Oddbits Archives » Urns

Posted on March 18, 2020April 27, 2020 by Daniel Szczesniak — Leave a comment

14 Fascinating Funeral Photos

Interesting images of funerals and cemeteries

Let’s take a look at some quirky and interesting funeral photos.

Every person who has ever lived has, or will soon have, the need for a funeral.

Since life is so full of wonder, interest, intrigue, mystery, humor, and much more, it should be no surprise that death would have its share of the strange and wonderful.

Here is our collection of fascinating funeral photos that capture a small hint of the paradoxical beauty, unsolvable mystery, odd irony, and morbid humor of funerals.

Posted on January 9, 2020November 15, 2019 by Daniel Szczesniak — Leave a comment

30 Questions About Death, Dying, and Your Legacy

Questions about death are a normal, healthy part of living well. While you may have questions about the physical, physiological, and psychological aspects of dying, those aren’t the questions you’ll find here. And while I’m sure you have questions about the afterlife, philosophy, and religion, we’re not trying to provide answers.

Instead, these questions are designed to help you think about your legacy and what it means to die well.

Below we’ve curated 30 or so open-ended questions to get you thinking about death and the meaning of your life.

Take your time and think about each one. Feel free to print them out and write your answers down. This practice can be for your own personal enrichment or as a way to start organizing your thoughts for your end-of-life planning.

Posted on July 11, 2019July 16, 2019 by Aubrey — Leave a comment

7 Things You Didn’t Know About Funeral Directors

In today’s society and throughout history, funeral directors have gotten a bad rap. Thanks to scary stories, movies, and breathless tabloid headlines, funeral directors are still thought of by many people as dark shadows of the night come to “undertake” your loved one into the mysterious lair that is the back of the funeral home (where they most certainly live, by the way).

More realistically, they are thought of as antisocial creeps, or shady salespeople at best.

But with the exception of a few (and they shall remain unnamed), most funeral directors are normal hard-working men and women, just like you and me, trying to make a small difference in this world while also making a living for their own families.

Here is a list of seven things you didn’t know about funeral directors and the necessary work they do.

Posted on November 5, 2018August 27, 2019 by Daniel Szczesniak — Leave a comment

Euphemisms for Death: 200+ Ways to Describe Death & Dying

Euphemisms for death abound. This is because there are many ways we talk about death.

Sometimes we talk evasively, in a way that avoids really talking about death. Other times we are trying to be polite and sensitive, especially around the family of the one who has died. Still other times we turn it into a big joke, blunting the razor edge of death’s horror with humor.

We can talk about death clinically, with a focus on the physical symptoms that avoids the emotional aspect. And of the flip side we can use purely emotional, whimsical terms like “living on in our hearts” as a way to deflect the crushing reality.

Posted on September 17, 2018March 20, 2020 by Daniel Szczesniak — Leave a comment

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory (Book Review)

Book Review: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory is an entertaining and at times thoughtful book about one of the most tucked-away but necessary jobs in the funeral industry: The Crematory Operator.

Written by Caitlin Doughty, who worked as a crematory operator and is now an “alternative” funeral director, author, and YouTube personality, the theme of the book is not really cremation or funerals or gory details, though it definitely includes that.

The main theme is death itself. Specifically, how our culture interacts with death (or tries to avoid it), and what things might be like if we looked death – in all of its messiness – straight in the face.

Posted on March 12, 2018April 22, 2018 by Daniel Szczesniak — 1 Comment

If your last text message went on your headstone, what would it say?

Your last text message is your headstone epitaph. Go.

Recently the Twitterverse had some fun with this question: If your last text message went on your headstone, what would it say?

Continue reading If your last text message went on your headstone, what would it say?

Posted on February 5, 2018November 26, 2019 by Daniel Szczesniak — 4 Comments

Here’s the complete list of everything you can do with your body after you die

Contemplating what can be done after death

If you’re not already thinking about dying, you should totally consider it.

Well, maybe not the dying part, since that’s inevitable; more specifically, you should think about how you are going to arrange your affairs for when the inevitable comes.

Posted on December 3, 2017August 29, 2019 by Daniel Szczesniak — Leave a comment

21 Classy Gift Ideas for Funeral Directors

Funeral directors are classy. Well-dressed, professional, caring, compassionate, all while being almost continuously on-call. These are the best of the best. The funeral professional you know and love – a.k.a. mortician, funeral director, undertaker, call them what you will – deserves a gift to match.

Posted on October 30, 2017November 26, 2019 by Daniel Szczesniak — Leave a comment

The 25 Best Funeral Director T-Shirts

Funeral directors, morticians, and embalmers are just like regular people. No, seriously! They have families, watch Netflix, enjoy a night out eating sushi, and wear t-shirts on their day off. If a funeral director is going to wear a t-shirt, it had better be a good one. A comfortable fit, a complementary color, a quirky quote that speaks to the heart of their macabre yet service-oriented calling in what has been termed, “The Dismal Trade.”

For the very best funeral director t-shirts, look no further. We’ve rounded up the best designs and favorites from around the web. Whether you’re shopping for yourself or for a friend, these are the best funny mortician shirts in existence.

Posted on October 9, 2017August 30, 2019 by Daniel Szczesniak — 4 Comments

15 Memorial Ideas Made From Cremated Ashes

Memorial ideas made out of cremated remains

A memorial made from cremated ashes is simply the ultimate way to keep your loved one close to your heart. Here are 15 creative and unique memorial ideas made using actual cremated remains. These include decorative accents, jewelry, and even trees.